The prostate gland is a walnut-sized gland located near the bladder in male dogs. It surrounds the urethra, which is the long tube carrying urine from the bladder to the outside of the body. The prostate produces fluid that makes up semen.[1] Prostate function is largely controlled by testosterone, which explains why the prostate can become diseased in intact male dogs.[2] Depending on which type of prostate disease your dog has (enlarged prostate, infected prostate, prostate cancer), work with your vet to treat your dog.

Steps

Method1

Treating Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia

1

Discuss treatment options with your vet. Benign prostate hyperplasia (BPH) is a fancy term for an enlarged prostate. It is the most common prostate disease in male dogs. BPH occurs because of continuous testosterone exposure.[3] Treatment options are neutering (removing the testicles) and anti-testosterone medications.

Anti-testosterone medications can be used if neutering isn’t an option (breeding dog or show dog). However, these medications are not as effective as neutering to reduce testosterone levels.[4]

If your dog is not showing clinical signs of BPH, such as bloody fluid dripping from the penis or difficult defecation, your vet may recommend not treating your dog.[5] It’s up to you whether you want to treat your dog.

2

Have your vet neuter your dog. Neutering is the most effective treatment for BPH. It will drastically reduce the amount of testosterone in your dog’s body.[6] Within about one month of neutering, an enlarged prostate gland will go back down to its normal size.[7]

3

Consider giving your dog finasteride. Finasteride, which is an oral drug, is the recommended medical treatment for canine BPH. It reduces the prostate’s size and improves clinical signs of BPH. Be aware, though, that finasteride is effective only during treatment—BPH comes back when finasteride treatment stops.[8]

Discuss with your vet whether you want to treat your dog with finasteride until you’re ready to have your dog neutered.

4

Decide whether to give your dog progesterone. Progesterone is an important sex hormone in female dogs. It's also been shown to shrink prostate size and improve clinical signs of BPH in male dogs. Progesterone is available as an injection or pill.[9] Consider asking your vet these questions about finasteride and hormone therapy:

How long can I safely keep my dog on BPH medications?

What are the side effects of these medications?

How much will the medications cost, compared to the cost of a neuter?

Can I give the progesterone injections at home?

5

Follow up with your vet. Whichever treatment option you choose, it would be a good idea to follow up with your vet after treatment. Your vet can perform a prostate exam to check the size of your dog’s prostate.

Method2

Treating Prostatitis

1

Decide which antibiotic to use. Prostatitis is a bacterial infection of the prostate gland. It is usually due to underlying prostate problem, like BPH. After diagnosing prostatitis, your vet will perform what’s called a culture and sensitivity test to determine which antibiotic will be most effective against the bacteria in your dog's prostate.[10]

Prostatitis can either be acute (makes dogs sick) or chronic (doesn’t make dogs feel sick). Antibiotic treatment for chronic prostatitis may not be very rewarding.[11]

2

Treat your dog for three to four weeks. The prostate gland is surrounded by a thick capsule that makes it hard for antibiotics to get inside the gland and kill the bacteria.[12] Because of this, prostatitis treatment usually takes at least several weeks, if not longer. If your dog has chronic prostatitis, antibiotic treatment may last for more than four weeks.[13]

Give your dog the full treatment course, even if its symptoms start to improve. If you stop the treatment too early, not all of the bacteria in the prostate gland will be killed. These bacteria could multiply and become resistant to other antibiotics.

If your dog also BPH, you will also need to treat your dog for that disease.

3

Let your vet neuter your dog. Unfortunately, antibiotics are usually not enough to treat prostatitis in male dogs. The symptoms often come back after antibiotic treatment is finished. Neutering is frequently recommended along with antibiotics for effective prostatitis treatment.[14]

Prostatitis can also cause abscesses (pockets of infection) and cysts (fluid-filled sacs) to form in the prostate. If your dog has prostatic abscesses and/or cysts, your vet will need to drain and remove those surgically.[15]

Take your dog for follow-up appointments. Your vet will want to check your dog’s progress after prostatitis treatment. One week and one month after treatment, your vet will test your dog’s semen for bacteria. If you didn’t have your dog neutered during prostatitis treatment, your vet will check your dog’s semen every six months until your dog is neutered.[17]

Method3

Treating Prostate Cancer

1

Decide whether to treat your dog with surgery. Prostate cancer in dogs is very aggressive. It invades nearby tissues and lymph nodes. Although surgery is the best chance to cure the cancer, it is often not practical because the cancer has likely spread by the time of diagnosis.[18]

Surgical treatment for prostate cancer can also cause urinary incontinence, making this treatment option less ideal.[19]

2

Discuss radiation therapy as a treatment option. Other treatment options are available. Radiation therapy uses a beam of radiation to damage the DNA in cancer cells, causing cell death.[20] If you and your vet decide on radiation therapy for your dog, your vet will prescribe it in small doses over several weeks.[21]

Your vet may refer you to a specialized veterinary cancer treatment center for the radiation therapy.

Talk with your vet about chemotherapy. Chemotherapy is another treatment option for dogs with prostate cancer. However, several chemotherapy drugs that have been used for prostate cancer treatment have not been very effective.[23] Also, chemotherapy is expensive.[24]